


"You're not as awful as you could be."

by raggedy_ginger



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 02:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raggedy_ginger/pseuds/raggedy_ginger
Summary: It was a known fact that the Fates were wise and ancient beings who influenced the course of the future for the entire universe. It was a lesser known fact that sometimes they fucked up and things that should never have happened did happen.Like the spontaneous and unexpected teleportation of your person to Jotunheim, where one God of Mischief was serving his self imposed exile after the events of New York.Really it's all just down hill after that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone suggested doing a Loki chapter for my Jackets fic and then this idea was born and now I've got ideas for it to be continued and all. Not sure if it will have much of a plot. Tell me what you think and if you have suggestions !

How the actual fuck does one accidentally end up in Jotunheim. Although how the actual fuck did anyone survive here was the more pressing question.  
It was beyond cold, the breath was pulled from my lungs by the howling wind that whipped across the snowy plains, my eyes stung as I squinted while my lashes froze and clumped together. Blood froze in droplets as it left my veins from the cuts gouged in my skin by the shards of ice and snow. I stumbled forward and barely managed a few steps before my legs went completely numb and gave out beneath me. I sank into the fast rising snow, gasping for air as it chased past my lips before I could draw it into my lungs. I could feel my heart beat slow and my blood turn sluggish and thick as the shivers became shakes that wracked my body and then great shudders that were my only movement.  
People always said that hell was hot, but it wasn't. It was ice and snow and relentless cold. And I was going to die in it. 

Warmth. Faint warmth seeped into my bones. It felt weak and distant, much like the voice I could only vaguely hear. The speaker sounded urgent, they were yelling things. I let out a soft grunt in reply and felt their warm breath of relief rush over my cold skin. Chapped lips brushed against my ear as they ducked their head to whisper to me in a rough voice.  
"Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." He pulled me closer to his hard chest and hoisted me up and out of the snow.

Time passed in a blur, only broken by my saviour's pointed fingers digging into my ribs to wake me every time he felt my body go limp in his arms.  
It only resumed a vaguely normal pace when I blinked slowly, without frost crystallizing my eyelashes, and stared at a soft golden fire burning a few feet away from me with no fuel.  
"Ah, you're alive." That same voice, though much smoother now, commented. My eyes flicked to the dark haired figure slouched against the cave wall.  
"Barely." I muttered as I hunched over and pulled my legs to my chest as the shivering began again. "But... I'm alive, thanks to you I'm guessing." I inspected the man with a critical eye, his already sharp face was drawn thin with bruise like bags under his constantly narrowed eyes. There was an unnatural blue colouring his pale skin and a sense of 'otherness' about him.  
"A simple thank you would be welcome." He grumbled as I squinted at him while trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. "Perhaps some praise and worship," He pushed his unruly black hair back from his face and I felt my heart skip a beat as I pressed my back against the cave wall.  
"You're Loki..." His gaunt face tightened for a second before a brittle smile took over his features.  
"The one and only." He said as he held up his hands in a mocking introduction.  
"You're..." I trailed off as I took in his thin form and the multitude of bruises and scars peppering his skin. For a supposed god who had tried to take over Earth he seemed... fragile. His keen green eyes, showing no sign of his former madness, were locked onto me as he waited for me to scream and run in terror. "You're alone..."  
A momentary look of surprise flashed on his face before it was replaced by his default sarcastic expression.  
"Unfortunately you're here so that's untrue." He snapped back, but there was no bite to it.  
There's a stilted silence between us while I continue to shiver and he continued to be unbothered by the unholy degree of cold. With a gesture of his hand the fire moved closer to me, and slowly the temperature became something resembling bearable.  
"How did I get here?" He quirked an eyebrow at me and shrugged.  
"At first I thought you were sent by my brother to 'redeem' me," His lips twisted into a sneer at the very thought and I had to stop a laugh. "but after finding you frozen in the snow I'm not so sure even he would send someone so incompetent." "Well maybe that was part of my plan. Foster a helpless image and then build trust until I kill you in your sleep." He narrowed his eyes at me and I realized that was probably not the right thing to say to the paranoid god of tricks with trust issues. "That's a joke! Just a human joke. Don't kill me." He chuckled at my hastiness.  
"You wouldn't survive a minute without me, you human joke." He scoffed and relaxed back against the wall. I hummed non-committally in reply, the short exchange had exhausted my failing energy reserves.  
It was impossible to keep time as the snowstorm outside howled and raged. Occasionally the entrance to our cave shimmered emerald green as something shadowy prowled outside. I shifted further back in the cave, the fire following me even as Loki looked bored by my presence. His sharp eyes flicked to the barrier that was constantly tested.  
It only hit me as I huddled against the icy cave wall with my teeth chattering loudly and my body feeling numb. This so called god, this trickster and infamous traitor, was my only hope of staying alive in this cold hellscape.  
I was utterly fucked.


	2. Snow beasts and retreats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caves are boring and Odin was a pretty shitty adoptive father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I'm back bitches.   
> If you guys want to see anything in particular just let me know and I'll try and fit it in to the reader and Loki's misadventures. Also thank you for your aggressive and threatening support 

There was very little difference between night and day on Jotunheim. The nights were dark and full of terror and probably things resembling white walkers, and the days were slightly less dark and equally full of terror and possibly white walkers.   
I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if it wasn't for Loki the biological Jotun clock. 

"You look like your liver is failing."   
"What." He sounded genuinely offended by my comment.   
"Your eyes are yellow." His slender fingers rose as if to touch his eyes before they stopped midway and his hand snapped back to his hand as he scowled. There was a moment of silence as his brows furrowed and then his eyes slowly changed back to their startling green.   
"No, they're not." He bit back venomously. I raised my hands up in a placating manner but couldn't stop the retort from slipping out.   
"You mean now they're not."   
"You'd think that for a creature so far down on the food chain you'd have better preservation instincts." He said witheringly and with a touch more condescension than usual.   
"You'd think that, but boredom overrides any logical thinking." I sighed heavily while fiddling with a stone I'd pried from the cave wall, being confined to the small cave with a vicious snowstorm raging outside was not doing anything for my fraying mental state. I eyed Loki as he sat across from me, perfectly calm and not showing a hint of cabin fever like I was.   
"So why were your eyes yellow?" He didn't show a shred of acknowledgement of my question. His mouth didn't even twitch into his customary scowl. I hummed and rolled the stone between my thumb and index finger. "I'd have thought that a god wouldn't like being confined to a small space. I can barely tolerate the cold and that awful yeti that keeps on stomping around outside." I laughed nervously as I joked about the beast that was undoubtedly waiting outside. Loki glanced at me and seemed to decide this was worth responding to, if only to shut me up.   
"I am used to the confinement. It has been a... recurring condition in my life lately. Although I must say that my jail keepers at least had the decency to make it solitary confinement." He spoke in a bored tone until his last complaint which was grumbled.  
I ignored the jab about my presence, it was remarkable how quickly you could develop a resistance to his acidity. "But what about the cold and the white walkers out there trying to turn us into corpsicles ?"   
He smirked in that entertained and smug way of his. "The cold is not as bothersome to me as it is for you, and I am not a helpless creature that cannot defend itself."   
"The cold isn't bothersome it's fucking debilitating." I muttered and the Trickster let out a small chuckle. The cave quietened again but there was still an amused curve to Loki's lips and if I hadn't been watching him I wouldn't have noticed the flick of his fingers that caused the fire to slowly increase in temperature. It was subtle at first but became very noticeable when I could feel my tingling toes for the first time since I was dumped in the snow. 

It's almost touching when he occasionally glanced my way with an appraising look that quickly takes in the skin bitten by the cold and how it's slowly returning to a normal colour. The blue tinge to my fingertips doesn't go away, no matter how warm it gets. I nestle my hands against my sides in an attempt to warm them and not have to see the worrying colour.  
"So if you're able to resist the cold and the monsters why are you in this cave with me? Not that I'm complaining, if you leave I die." My brain screams that that's a stupid question to ask a being who had legends written about his fickle nature, but Loki considers the question for a heavy moment. He is serious as he stares at me with an inscrutable expression. Eventually he shrugs.   
"Perhaps having another person here makes this less... reminiscent of my past imprisonment." He is hesitant to say it, like he's revealing his greatest weakness and to him any honesty probably meets that requirement.   
"Oh. Is it from after New York?" I asked quietly.   
His mouth twists bitterly but he answers the question anyway.   
"Partially, that was my longest time spent confined. But it had happened before, for less serious offenses against Odin." His brows were drawn together and his face was stony as he avoided my eyes.   
"Wait, so your dad-"   
"He was not my father."   
"Odin," I corrected quickly. "put you in solitary confinement when you were a kid?" He met my eyes this time, with a gaze slightly more engaged than I was used to seeing.   
"Yes, he thought the punishment would serve whenever I behaved in a way he didn't approve of. Oh the rage he flew into when I discovered my gift for magic still makes the castle staff shudder." He chuckled in a way that was meant to be dismissive but sounded nostalgic and sad to me.   
"Odin sounds like a real douchebag." I said decisively with a sharp frown. "Who locks up their own child, even if they're adopted," I added before he could interject. "for something that they can't control. Besides magic is brilliant, it's keeping us warm and safeish and I'm pretty sure it can do way more. And Odin punished you for having it?" Loki nodded with genuine surprise and amusement on his face at my enraged tone. "What a bastard."   
He definitely smiled at that and the cave grew a bit brighter. He talked more after that, generally snarky comments and eloquent boasting of his own adventures. It's hard to see him as the maniac that tried to take over Earth when he acted like this, acted so... human, for lack of a better word.   
I let his voice wash over me, it felt like his smooth words wound around all the splintered and frozen pieces of me and gently coaxed them back together into some semblance of a functional person. It was still cold and I was still scared but I could ignore that for now and just listen to the God of Mischief and his silver tongue weave words into so much more. 

The noise of a frozen stone being shattered is grating to my ears after having listened to Loki's soothing voice for what must have been hours. I immediately leapt to my feet, swaying on quivering legs. My eyes flick from each section of the cave wall before settling on the green barrier at the mouth, it sparks and splutters as something meaty and the size of a small car smashes against it's surface. I jumped back and clamped my lips together to restrain the surprised yell. Loki was somehow at my side and I saw him wince out of the corner of my eye as the beast outside hit the barrier again. Unconsciously I shifted closer to him as the green sparks became more numerous.   
"We have to leave now." His voice is short and sharp and there's no gentle flourish to his words like before.   
"No shit." My retort was weak even to my ears. Daggers materialized in Loki's hands and his form shimmered emerald as scaled armour takes the place of his robes, a thick furred cloak rests upon his shoulders and I wonder why he didn't wear it before.   
"I am going to blow out the back of the cave and we are going to run, do not stop and do not look back." There was no time to even reply as crackling violent green energy gathered in his palm and he directed it towards the sturdy cave wall, there was a thunderous crack and his hand grabbed my wrist painfully as he dragged me through the new exit and pulled me alongside him as he ran impossibly fast. Instantly the freezing conditions slowed me down and I could feel snow soak my shoes and then freeze them solid. I stumble through snowdrifts and trip over everything in my path as the poor light barely penetrates the thick flurry of snow.  
"Hurry up!" Loki snapped as I stumbled yet again, his vice grip on my forearm was the only thing keeping me from falling into the deep snow altogether. The shivers wracking my body felt like constant vibrations at this point and it felt like shards of ice were embedded in my muscles and spreading further with every step. It was a wonder I even made it a few metres more before my legs simply stopped responding and I dropped to the ground. My skin was numb thankfully. I heard Loki yelling ahead of me, but my terrified mind could only register the thudding footsteps coming to a stop right behind me. Something sharp and icy, colder even than the storm around me slices through my shoulder as I'm turned around and picked up in a crushing paw. The scream doesn't even make it out and instead I gasped as the beast squeezes and I felt my body start to cave before there was a pained bellow and I was dropped into the snow. I tried once more to get up, and only made it as far as lifting my chest off of the ground before my arms gave out and my left shoulder became completely useless. I flopped back into the snow.   
"I am not going to keep doing this." I faintly heard the weak snarl in my ear as something warm and soft was draped over me and Loki picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. Through blurry vision I saw his dagger gleam before it flashed out of sight and something roared in pain again. It's at that point that I felt the warm blood flow far too thickly down my neck and felt the telltale lightheadedness from blood loss. I'm awake only long enough to hear Loki roar his own challenge at the beast before my eyes close and the world dropped out from beneath me.


	3. Assgard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your ass gets saved. In Assgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo hoes.   
> In this chapter Loki is a sweet douchebag, and you are a cliched loser who subconsciously wants to bang him.

Waking up felt normal this time, not like I'd just fallen unconscious from blood loss and hypothermia.   
It was also mercifully, not cold as fuck. 

In fact there was sunlight, and the soft sound of the sea not too far away. I opened my eyes with a groan. Everything was golden, it's like Summer itself was made manifest. Wherever I was was the antithesis to Jotunheim, which put this place in my good books already. I breathed in deeply, it still felt as if there were ice shards embedded in my lungs and my breath was a puff of icy air when I exhaled.   
"Your time on Jotunheim will have a permanent effect on your physiology. As will the treatment you have received here." I blinked owlishly and my pillow rustled as I turned my head to look at the god sitting languidly at my bedside. Somehow Loki managed to make something so touching look like an act of douchebaggery.   
"Where are we?" My voice was rough and felt like splintering ice as it came out of my throat. Loki handed me a cup and it spoke volumes of how much I trusted him, or just didn't value my life, that I drank it without hesitation. I made a face at the sickly sweet taste of the drink and he restrained a laugh.   
"Yes, I've always hated Asgardian 'medicines'," Of course he sneers "they're cloying and near unpalatable but they're somewhat effective. Much like the people, I suppose." He mused to himself as I waited for the honey sweet drink to soothe my throat enough to let me speak easier.   
"We're in Asgard? But aren't you exiled?" I sat up and leaned back against the ridiculous amount of pillows on my bed. Loki scowled disdainfully at everything and nothing in particular.   
"It was a self imposed exile, which means I chose to do it and could come back any time I wanted to." By the way he spat out the words you'd think he had drank some of the awful diabetes-inducing 'medicine'.   
"I know what self imposed means, jackass." I grumbled. "But why are we here, Odin can't be more than a mile away or something and your minimum distance required away from him seems to be an entire realm." He smiled that borderline genuine smile that wasn't quite so sharp.   
"Neither Jotunheim or myself had the means to heal you. Asgard did." Loki's voice was carefully neutral even as he watched me expectantly. I tilted my head slightly and smirked.   
"So you came out of exile to save the puny mortal you supposedly hated so much." I summed up with great satisfaction which was increased when Loki made an undignified face at me.   
"You're not completely loathsome, I suppose. But don't think this is any gesture of affection on my part." I snorted, which jarred my still healing body.   
"I wouldn't dream of it, Loki." I said with much amusement.   
"It occurs to me."   
"Mmm?" I hummed as I leaned back into my pillows, being awake was tiring stuff.   
"That I do not know your name."   
"Huh, you're right for once." He rolled his eyes. "Why ask for it now?"   
He shrugged, expression carefully detached as he stood up and smoothed his robes. "It doesn't matter."   
"Y/N." I was embarrassingly desperate for him to stay. In this golden, sunlit world he was the only familiarity. In his dark clothes and bad temper he stood out just as much as I surely did. "My name is Y/N." He stared at me for a moment before relaxing slightly.   
"I'm just going to get you some food, you haven't eaten since what I assume would be before your unplanned trip to Jotunheim." He looked pointedly at the hand that I'd unconsciously held his cloak with.   
"You'll come back?" It felt like I needed more diabetes juice as my voice cracked slightly. Loki nodded and I let go of his cloak and leaned back again. I watched him leave the room and almost immediately a nurse or healer of some sorts approached my side. She held her hands a few inches above my body and began to move them in a wave like motion. Soft orange light emanated from her hands and trailed in lazy clouds.   
"Um, excuse me, but what are you doing?" The woman shushed me and I frowned.   
"I'm inspecting the healing process. I've sped it up as much as I can and healed what I could but there's only so much I can do. You will scar from your encounter with what seems to be a Jotun Bardül, their claws are quite vicious. The damage to your ribs was easily rectified but the exposure to the realm's icy nature and then Asgard's own magic has had... Unforeseen effects upon your body." She was blunt but surprisingly gentle with her report. I glanced at my shoulder and saw the still pink scar running raggedly over my collarbone and ending suddenly just below it. The tightness of the one side of my body told me that the scar ran down my back as well.   
"So how did all this fuckery change me then? Did it cause mutation or something?" She raised her eyebrow at the question but answered anyway.   
"The exposure has changed you from mostly human to... an amalgamation of Jotun and Asgardian as well as human. From what I can tell you might gain new abilities or perhaps you'll have a longer lifespan and enhanced attributes." The healer seemed fascinated by my bizarre condition and I had to admit that I too was fascinated as well as utterly confused.   
"Was there no way to prevent the change?" I asked and she clicked her tongue and splayed her fingers to bring up a glowing display of my nervous, bone and tissue structure.   
"When the Liesmith-"  
"Loki, his name is Loki." I interrupted firmly. She eyed me sharply.   
"When Prince Loki brought you to us you were near death, the combination of blood loss and ice sickness was a potent one for any being and in your case it was extreme. There was no time to evaluate every effect healing you would have. In the moment you would either live and emerge stronger or you would die. As a healer I'm obligated to do everything in my power to ensure it's the former. If you'd like I can give you a full summary of the possible changes and the definite ones."   
I hesitated before replying. "That would be helpful actually. Thanks." She nodded and started flicking her fingers and writing down notes as she glanced up at her... whatever that orange display was. I was dozing off when there was a gentle hand nudging my shoulder. The healer handed me her notes and then left. I looked up at the fading display that hovered in the air and then back at the incomprehensible squiggles that must be Asgardian writing.  
"Well fuck."   
"I see your vocabulary remains the same then." Loki didn't sound relieved about that at all. "What is it that's confusing your barely adequate mortal mind?" He sat down and placed a tray of food on the bed after popping a grape like thing into his mouth.   
"I'm injured, you can't be mean to injured people." Loki scoffed at that and pointedly poked my side. "Ow, you've mortally wounded me. This is it, this is the end- ooh, is that a blueberry ?" I snatched a handful from the tray and leaned back against the pillows again. I held out the paper from the healer for him to take. "So what does this say?"   
He took the paper and gave it a lazy once over.   
"That you're dead and I've inherited all of your measly possessions." He popped another grape into his mouth. I scoffed.   
"Jokes on you, all I own is debt and like two swords."   
"Why do you own two swords? I thought it was uncommon for mortals."  
"I'm an impulse buyer." I muttered while scratching through the platter of food. "So what does it actually say?"  
"The definite changes are an accelerated rate of regeneration, increased strength and agility. The possible changes are mild Jotun abilities such as resistance to cold, frost magic and your skin could be impervious to weaker attacks. Then the list goes on to say irrelevant things like your estimated life span and so on and so forth." I rolled my eyes at him.   
"Thanks. I suppose you can teach me the Jotun stuff right?" I asked casually and he froze and locked his gaze onto me.   
"Who told you of my heritage?" His voice was as icy as his birth realm.   
"I figured it out. It wasn't that hard." His eyes were dull and glassy, like he had instantly cut himself off from me and anything I might say. I hesitated for a moment before stretching out a hand and focusing on the icy feeling in my chest. Slowly, a tiny layer of frost covered my palm, sparkling in the sunlight. Beneath the ice my skin was the palest shade of blue.   
"I think that Jotun magic is kinda beautiful." I said softly.   
There was a moment.   
One of those moments that decide the trajectory of your flight or fall.   
Loki smiled, and I fell.


	4. Adopt another!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think Loki's bedside manner would just be sarcasm and insulting you when you're at your worst.   
> What a dick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there might be a few other pairings in this because Loki's sluttiness rubs off on you.  
> I love him but his MO when on a new planet is Go big or go down and I love it.  
> What do y'all think ?

After that Loki was barely out of the hospital wing. There was always a tray of some sort of food and the stack of books around my bed was growing, and the chair at my bedside was replaced with something so gaudy and green and completely awful that I knew it was Loki's.  
Loki loved to hear himself speak and reveled even more in the fact that someone else found magic fascinating, combine those two things and he made an excellent teacher.  
"When will I be able to conjure a blizzard?" I asked as he read with his feet propped up on my bed. He laughed suddenly and looked up at me with that ridiculous smile.  
"You are an odd creature." I sniffed at his amused tone.  
"You're just terrified of my limitless potential." I huffed and he laughed again. "But seriously, when will I be able to rain mass destruction upon everything?" Loki had a very particular sense of humour that I could never quite pin down, much like himself really. His smile curved upwards on one side, that was the expression I was coming to recognize as mischievous.  
"Truthfully, I am not certain it will be in your power to conjure one. Perhaps if the weather  conditions are already near such a state you could do so." He hummed and drummed his fingers against the arm rest. "It will be another thing to test once you recover."  
"Speaking of," The healer, who I now knew to  be Azaria, appeared suddenly with a disapproving expression on her face. "This will be your last check up and then you will be free to leave my ward. You will have to find another citizen of Asgard to take responsibility for you while you stay here as I am no longer shouldering that burden."  
"Azaria, gentle healer, have I ever made you regret being the snitch who reports my every action to Odin." I simpered with a smile and she glared back tiredly.  
"Only every day you've been here." She deadpanned and left without another word.  
"She's definitely gonna miss me." I said with a decisive nod to Loki and he snorted.  
"Of course, she's clearly heartbroken over you being released." The two of us watched the healer as she glared at the two of us and pointedly poured a vial of smoking liquid into my medicine.  
"That must be a delicious and healthy addition to my medicine. She's so concerned with my well being." The table burned where the liquid had splattered onto it. "Very healthy addition."  
Loki laughed as Azaria returned with my sizzling medicine. She put the cup on my bedside table and gestured for me to stand up. I hopped out of bed and stood in front of her.  
"Follow my finger." My eyes flicked left and right as she moved her index finger before flicking it against my forehead.  
"Professional as ever."  
She made a shushing noise as her finger tip lit up as she brought it nearer to my eyes to check my pupils. She pressed a hand to my chest and it started to glow a by now familiar shade of orange. Tendrils of the light spread across my chest and throat, lighting up my body and allowing Azaria to see below the skin.  
"Cough." I complied and the orange light flared as the icy blue in my lungs lit up. "Hmmm, I don't think the magic of Jotunheim will be leaving your body anytime soon. However you seem to have adapted to it so I don't think it will hinder you."  
Her hand moved from my chest to my head although the orange glow remained. She pressed her thumb to my forehead and her index and middle finger to my temple. My vision was filled with the hazy cloud of her magic as she checked on my nerve system and the new magical core that had made a home in my body. She hummed and stepped back, with a wave of her hand the orange vanished from my person. I plopped back down on the bed and looked up at the grouchy healer.  
"So what's the diagnosis, doc?" She didn't bother to correct my mention of doctor instead of healer.  
"Unfortunately you're going to live."  
"That's terrible." I interrupted and she nodded.  
"Something we can agree on, your... magic seems to be developing well considering you only recently inherited it. Although I believe that is due to Prince Loki's tutelage."  
"And my unbelievable talent." I chimed in again and this time she didn't nod.  
"Yes, unbelievable talent. In short, you are healthier than you ever could have been in Midguard and you are free to go."  
"Am I free to stay?" I asked while kicking my legs idly. I heard Loki snort behind me.  
"I do need a cadaver to test poisons on."  
"That's a no then. Well I'll just drink my medicine and go then." Before I could even reach for the frothing and suspect drink Loki slapped my hand away and dragged me towards the door.  
"She put manticore venom in that. It would kill even a being such as myself." His hand rested between my shoulder blades as he nudged me out into the open air hallway.  
"She's so nice. She knows I crave the sweet release of death." My companion sighed heavily and slung an arm over my shoulders.  
"As do we all." He said in an oddly reassuring manner. He opened his mouth to add another snarky remark but was cut off by one of the guards marching towards us and stopping to salute.  
"The Allfather requests your presence in the throne room. I am to escort you there." Loki's arm tightened minutely around my shoulders before he started to remove it. I lazily leaned against him and tried to copy the way his arm rested on my shoulders like a mantle. But... His height caused issues and I only managed to hook my hand over his shoulder.  
"I think Prince Loki can manage escorting a distinguished person such as myself."  
"Distinguished?" I elbowed him in the ribs and he shut up.  
"So thank you, but I'll be okay." The guard eyed Loki speculatively before deciding that seeing this order through wouldn't be good for his health and saluted before marching off.  
"To the throne room!"  
"I'm not your tour guide." He sniffed as he nudged me towards a different corridor.  
"And yet you don't shut up about the drapery."  
"It's atrocious."  
"Fair."

If I had any doubts about who chose the very gold decor they died the moment I stepped into Odin's throne room.  
"Odin is just Dumbledore with an eyepatch and is slightly less gay." I whispered to Loki as we walked the ridiculous distance to the foot of the throne. He side eyed me.  
"Who's Dumbledore? And Odin isn't gay!" I elbowed him as his voice rose towards the end and made it sound like he was calling the Allfather gay in front of his guard.  
"It's an Earth literature thing. And he's so gay, look at the male guard's armour. No straight man designs armour that hugs their butt that nicely." Loki and I checked out one of the guards ahead of us.  
"You have a point." He agreed with a pleased nod.  
"Loki, you have returned from Jotunheim."  
"Clearly." Loki interrupted in a deadpan voice.  
"Did you find what you were searching for?" The king asked with a pointed glance in my direction and Loki kept up his bored expression as he raised his eyebrows.  
"I did not find an accepting father figure, no. But I found this human. It says it doesn't know how it ended up in Jotunheim and I'm inclined to believe that."  
"It?" I half protested but was ignored.  
"This human's body has changed. It's possible that the combined stress and magic of their ordeal has triggered a mutation of powers." Odin mused to everyone in the throne room excluding me.  
"I'm literally right here."  
"Whatever the case, a human is now in possession of magic on par with our own." That was news to me and Odin, judging by the appraising stare he directed at me for the first time since I'd entered the room.  
"Y/N, do you believe that Midguard would welcome you and your powers and have the means to train you?" His question was posed as if to hide the clear meaning of his words; Earth could not handle a mutant magician or whatever I was. I thought back to the riots and protests and underground wars between mutants and the prejudiced. The persecution of superheroes who had always tried their best to fix their shitty neighborhoods but had mysteriously disappeared before we could even thank them.  
"No, I don't think they will..." I told him in a quiet voice, ignoring the sharp look Loki sent me. Odin leaned back in his throne and stroked his beard, intensifying his Dumbledore vibe.  
"By all rights Loki should have given you to the Jotuns as you were in their realm, and barring that he should have given you to the sorcerers to train your magic." The more Odin spoke the more my anger grew. It was as if he wanted to make Loki's every action seem like the wrong one. I might not agree with all of the Mischief God's actions but after the time I'd spent with him I'd come to realize there was far more to him than just a huge ego and a numerous amount of psychological issues.  
"Do we even know if my magic manifested during my time on Jotunheim? It could have been triggered when I was healed here in Asgard. There's no way Loki could have known that I'd gained magic. If it wasn't for him then I'd be dead." I squared my shoulders and half stepped in front of Loki.  
There was tense silence in the room as everyone waited to see what the King's reaction would be. His only eye was locked onto me, his blue gaze was hard and calculating as it sweeped over me. I got the sense that he was seeing far more than just my appearance.  
I was the first to see the slow curl of a smile tug at his lips before a harsh laugh boomed from his chest. I felt Loki stiffen and stare at the Allfather in bewilderment.  
"Its Y/N L/N?" He half asked as his laughter tapered off.  
"Yes." I confirmed with narrowed eyes, I hadn't told anyone here my full name. His smile grew smug at my suspicious expression.  
"It has been centuries since Asgard has taken in a ward, and we have never taken in a Midguardian sorcerer. Perhaps it is time that we change that." Odin stood, staff in hand as he navigated the stairs to stand in front of us. I bit down the laughter at the thought of him tripping over his robes. "Until you have mastered your powers and become familiar with Asgard you will choose a guardian to help you along the way."  
"Do I have to decide on one right now?" I fidgeted nervously at the thought of making the decision on the spot.  
"No." Odin shook his head as a slow grin crept onto his stern features and Loki glared at him suspiciously. "You shall have a period of time to choose an appropriate person to fill that position. But until then my son Thor will be your temporary guardian."  
The old man strode down the hall, his guards flanking him and leaving the two of us alone in the cavernous throne room.  
I glanced at the god at my side and doubled over from laughter.  
His entire body was taut as he practically shook with indignant outrage.  
"Thor?!" His voice cracked and echoed in the room. 

Oh boy...


	5. Trash talk my boi and we gonna throw fists fam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sif is an icon, you are protective, and there is a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back from the dead.  
> Got inspired after Infinity war and Endgame to finish this chapter and put it out.  
> There'll probably he updates for my other stuff too!  
> Enjoy!

"So how do I...?" I trailed off and gestured.  
"You just put your arms in first and then your head, and then pull it over." The god of actual perfection explained with an amused lilt to his voice. 

"But what if I break it?" I asked nervously while running my fingers along the smooth detailing of the metal. Thor outright laughed and patted me on the back. Although reassuring it was also like being whacked with a wooden plank.  
"My armour was forged in the fire of the Star Forge by the greatest smiths." 

"Modest." Loki chimed in from where he had been sulking in his seat. Thor shot him a dirty look.  
"You will not break it." He reassured me.  
I pulled the armour on, surprised by the solid yet light weight of it as it settled on my shoulders. I looked up at Thor and grinned.  
"This is so frikkin cool but I look like a tiny idiot don't I." He nodded with a smile.  
"Only a bit more than usual." I snorted at Loki's jab.  
"Not up to your usual scathing standard, I give it a 1 out of 10." I shot back absently while fiddling with the intricate armour that hung off of my frame. 

Thor stepped closer and tapped the chest twice, the armour instantly shrunk and moulded itself to my form.  
"I need 20 of these." I murmured in awe while running my hand up and down one of the scaled sleeves. The armour, while fitting me perfectly, was clearly made for a warrior. 

It allowed for optimal combat performance in physical fighting and just being a freaking tank. And while I loved the idea of being that kind of warrior very much, I knew that it was not for me. 

Long and loosely curled fingers rapped against my chest, echoing my quickening heartbeat. I looked up to see Loki standing close enough to make out the flecks of hazel in his emerald eyes and see the tightness around them as he gazed at me in Thor's armour. 

"This doesn't fit you." I tilted my head curiously and he gestured for me to lift my arms as he helped me out it. His cool fingers grazed against my bare arms as I wiggled out of the armour. "You're not a warrior." He tossed it back to Thor and stared at me for a moment, he stood perfectly still.  
He leaned forward slightly, a tiny movement that sent me reeling internally. "You're more than that." 

Loki drew away and I was left feeling like he'd given me a puzzle, a piece of himself to solve.  
I watched him saunter out of the room, still running his words through my head, unaware that Thor observed the two of us with keen eyes. 

Meeting the Warriors Three was absolutely terrifying. Not only were these new people but they were new people who could kill me in fifteen different ways in under thirty seconds. 

And I knew that Loki and Thor could do it in twice the number of ways in half the time but they were different. The two of them already felt like lifelong friends that I both loved and tolerated. 

There was also the fact that the other Asgardians were highly regarded by Thor, and well, I wanted them to like me.  
It turns out them not liking me wasn't the problem. 

"I am Lady Sif, it is good to meet the one that Thor has spoken so much of." Her grip was firm and warm and I swear I felt my soul leaving my body. She could have snapped me over her knee and I would have said thank you. 

"I'm Y/N, I don't have a title really. I grew up hearing stories of you-uh, I mean... The Norse Mythology in my realm featured you sometimes." I could feel my face burning but refused to break eye contact with her. There was a humiliating pause before she cracked a smile and slapped my bicep with a laugh.  
"I look forward to hearing what your people think of me." Sif said amiably, mentally I tried to match up the golden haired fertility goddess to the dark haired warrior before me. 

There would need to be some major editing before I recounted any myths to her. 

Thor patted my back reassuringly as I turned to face the other three men.  
"These are the Warriors Three;" He introduced each of them in turn and I nodded and grasped forearms with them in greeting.  
"So you're the Midguardian that ole Silvertongue saved. That's a bit unusual for him." The largest of the warriors commented flippantly and the others agreed. 

I could feel Thor stiffen beside me but remain silent. I, however, could not forget the cloak that Loki had wrapped me in when I'd been dying on Jotunheim, nor could I let go of how brittle his smile was whenever he showed it.  
Maybe they were part of the reason my new friend had such sharp edges.

"Did you notice that his eyes are green?" I snapped back more aggressively than I meant to but got confused nods in reply anyway.  
"When he invaded my world his face was plastered on every screen for months. And on every single one his eyes were blue. Just like all the other people that were under the scepter's control." 

My heart was beating too fast and I almost wanted to take back my words, but if there was one thing I was good at it was continuing to put my foot in my mouth. 

"He shapeshifts-" Sif started to say and I frowned and set my shoulders back.  
"He never changes his eyes." I thought of Jotunheim and his naturally yellow eyes and how he denied them. "They're always green except for when he's being mind controlled." My inner monologue was screaming at me for interrupting Sif.  
Who was an actual goddess that I already admired. 

"You may have known him for far longer and I can respect that but maybe you've let your own opinions colour your view of who he really is."  
That really did make it awkward. 

Thor's hand settled on my shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.  
"We must be going. Y/N here still has to learn how to navigate the city." He excused us politely and I waved at the three as Thor guided me towards the gates leading to the marketplace.  
"Thank you." The warrior murmured quietly as we browsed a weapons store. There were dozens of tempting sharp things.  
I felt like I was in the world's most dangerous toy store. 

I glanced up from the kophesh sword that I was pretending to examine.  
"For lecturing your best friends on the first meeting?" I huffed incredulously.  
"Yes." He scratched his beard with the point of a dagger and then gestured with said weapon. "I should have said something. Especially when we were younger..." 

"There's no point in regret, Thor. All you can do is learn from the past and be better. If you really want to help Loki then start by telling him that he's not what they say he is. It's all well and good if you get everyone to stop talking shit about him but if he still believes it afterwards? Then there's no point." I shrugged and tried to flip the kophesh and then catch it.  
I seemed to be the only one who was surprised when I actually did it.  
Hm, better reflexes. 

"You should focus on your brother. Not on others." I advised with a smile.  
It would be nice to see Loki get to snark with his brother again.  
There was a thoughtful hum from Thor as we browsed the store in silence. 

"We'll take the kophesh and a set of daggers." Was the only warning I got that we were leaving.  
"You know how to use one?" I asked curiously when I wandered up to the counter.  
Thor grinned.  
"Nope."  
"Haven't seen you use daggers much either."  
"They're more Loki's thing." He shrugged.  
"So...?"  
"The kophesh is for you. And the daggers are for Loki when he inevitably teaches you how to use them." Thor accepted the cloth wrapped weapons and handed over some coins. "He doesn't like to get his own set damaged."  
Thor rolled his eyes at that and I laughed as he recounted some story of the two of them trying to kill a giant with only one of Loki's precious daggers.  
It didn't go that well. 

 

"I think the Warriors Three are going to kill me." I announced as I ambled into Loki's rooms.  
He looked up from his seat on the balcony as I flopped onto his bed with a groan.  
"Don't wrinkle my sheets." He said distastefully and I pulled a face at him.  
"You're gonna sleep on them anyway." I muttered. 

He clicked his tongue and abandoned his book. He made a show of gracefully standing and stretching before walking to the bed and falling onto it with far more finesse than I did. 

I shoved his shoulder and felt satisfied at breaking his graceful streak as he let out an indignant squawk. 

"Why do you think they're going to kill you? Not that I blame you. They are quite the group of murderous barbarians." He added with a touch of bitterness.  
I rested my chin on my crossed forearms as he lay on his back alongside me.  
"They were trash talking you."  
"Ah, the one constant in my life." He replied dryly and I snorted.  
"And I told them I disagreed." I said carefully. Watching Loki freeze for a moment before turning his head to look at me sharply.  
"That's... Unexpected."  
"Well start expecting it." 

He made a humming noise and we settled into silence.  
I could feel one of the three suns in the sky warm my back as I stretched out on the bed  
Between the warmth of the afternoon and the comfort of Loki lying next to me I started to drift off to sleep. 

The distant noise of people prodded me into waking.  
The room was dark now, with a cold bite to the air as the cold night crept in. I fumbled for the blankets that were draped over the foot of the bed and very carefully pulled them over Loki and I. 

The prince was still sleeping. His skin felt cold to the touch before. But after the emergence of my own magic he had become the only person who wasn't unbearably warm. I let my gaze settle on him, feeling secure in the darkness.

Seeing Loki asleep was what I imagined it would be like to watch a sleeping panther. 

He was all loose limbs and soft edges. There was a certain sense of regality to the way he sprawled across the bed. His one arm stretched across the bed and his long fingers almost grazing my forearm. Even in sleep he denied himself such a simple comfort. 

And then he woke up, everything sliding back into place. His arm curled to his chest and away from me.  
His muscles tightened and he sat up, glancing at the blanket as it pooled in his lap. 

"That was... Odd." He murmured and I snorted.  
"What, never had a nap?" I half yawned and he looked at me with disapproval.   
"Not with another person." 

Oh...  
I stopped my stretching and twisting on the soft covers to look at Loki properly.  
"Not even with Thor when you were younger?"  
"No. It's custom for children to be given their own spaces to be... relaxed in. Although I think Odin only upheld this tradition to keep Thor and I separate." There was always that bitterness when he spoke of his family. Adoptive family... 

"It's not Thor's fault that Odin is a dick. You didn't get to choose your parents, Loki. Neither did Thor." I reminded and nudged his foot with mine.  
He grunted but didn't make a snarky comment to disagree. 

Which was as good as agreement from him. 

"Tomorrow you are required to choose a guardian." He tried to say lightly.  
But it sounded about as heavy as his ego.  
"Yes."  
I wanted to say alot of things instead of yes. 

He sighed and then poked me in the ribs and threw the blanket off of us.  
"Come. We need to make an appearance at dinner or everyone will wonder whether I've corrupted you." 

"Well you have."  
"They don't need to know that. Now where is the hairbrush."


End file.
